LATEST: Tshinga Dube warns Mnangagwa government over Gukurahundi

Makokoba MP Tshinga Dube says people must accept that Gukurahundi happened adding that the Emmerson Mnangagwa led government must engage traditional leaders over the issue so that the cultural custodians can once and for all spiritually address the emotive matter.

According to NewZimbabwe.com, he was addressing journalists at the Bulawayo Media Centre at the weekend.

Dube said the best way government can solve the Gukurahundi issue was to apologise to the nation for the atrocities which were committed in Matebeleland and Midlands provinces when the state unleashed the notorious North- Korean trained Fifth Brigade in the provinces to supress alleged banditry activities during the early 80s.

"First let us accept that Gukurahundi happened. We can find a way of apologising through chiefs. Traditional chiefs can come together and make the necessary rituals. In shona they usual talk of Ngozi (avenging spirits) but that Ngozi is treated. At times, we try to heal the Gukurahundi issue politically but that cannot work because this is purely a spiritual issue," said Dube.

The former war veterans' minister said the new government should move with speed to resolve the matter, insisting that further would cause serious instability in the country.

"I am rather very reluctant to talk about Gukurahundi but my point is that it has not been conclusively addressed. When we have a conflict where a lot of lives are lost, it means we must take it seriously. To those who were not affected by Gukurahundi it means nothing to them apart from being a moment of madness but to those who were affected it remains in their hearts. The pain remains for a very long time and those things go from father to son because people still talk about them," he said.

"The kids that listen to you when you talk about Gukurahundi keep it in their hearts. When they grow, they grow with it in their hearts. They have a grievance but we do not want that grievance to go on. We want these things to be put to an end," added Dube.